


In The Deep, Dark Of This World, You Are My Light

by TheHowling1234



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 05:06:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12787620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHowling1234/pseuds/TheHowling1234
Summary: Caroline has an older half-sister on her father's side, Jacqueline "Jack" Forbes, who was born when Bill Forbes was still in high school, to the last member of a powerful line of witches. When Bill and Liz Forbes married Jack was adopted at twelve years old by Liz and later decidedto go to college near Mystic Falls after the separation in order to help raise her eight year old little sister Caroline. Since graduating Jack had worked her way up to an FBI field agent, before deciding to quit and becoming her own boss as a licensed PI. As a witch Jack is aware of the supernatural world and worked on the side as a hunter and freelancer. She however felt no particular prejudice against any species despite her father's influence.





	In The Deep, Dark Of This World, You Are My Light

**Author's Note:**

> Usual disclaimer, I own nothing. Okay, so last time I tried to write an OC story, I didn't like how it turned out, now however, I have more of an idea of where I want to go with this. In this fic things might not be canon, like in this fic Jenna Sommers and her classmates are 28 rather than 25 like in canon and were friends with Jack. Bill Forbes is older than Liz and got a girl pregnant - Jack's mom - at 16, twelve years later means he married Liz at 29 and left when Caroline was 8 and he was 37. Miranda and Grayson (in this fic) were 35 and 37 respectively when they died.

   _Riiinnnggg~ Riiinnggg~ Riii-_ "Whaaat. Its like-" Squinting against the bright screen of the phone and reading the tiny numbers in the top right corner. "-7:34pm. I know to most people that doesn't seem late to most people but do you know how late I was working? I got like-God, two hours of sleep after working 48 hours on a case. What could possibly not wait until the morn-" Jacks voice cut off when she heard a chocked sob on the other end of the line. Suddenly wide awake and feeling guilt nipping at her chest for complaining when she _knew_ her mother wouldn't call the on the night after a case unless it was important. Hearing Liz on the other side of the phone attempting to collect herself, Jack waited with baited breath, dread pooling in her stomach.

  "It's-  _*sniff*-_ It's Caroline. She- shes been in an accident and _*sniff*_  they- the doctors- they don't think she'll make it. She, ah, she had internal bleeding and is in surgery now to try and stop it but..." Her mothers' voice became muffled, as if Jack was hearing everything from underwater. The words kept repeating in her head  _'-Caroline - accident - internal bleeding - not going to make it - not going to make it notgoingtomakeitnotgoin-"_

Distantly, Jack bacame aware that her mother had been calling her name for sometime, "-ack! Jack! Jack answer me! Ja-"

  "Yeah. Yeah I'm here. Sorry just... _sigh._ " Rubbing her eyes tiredly Jack's mind whirled, she was her own boss and had money to last her awhile. Clearing her throat didn't help prevent her voice from sounding hoarse and strained. "I can be there in two hours. Can I stay at your place or should I stay at the Duchamp house?"

  Hopping out of bed as she spoke, Jack quickly packed a bag big enough for a possibly extended stay. "No, no. You're more than welcome to stay over, I sure Car-Caroline would love that." Ignoring the way her mother's - her iron-willed mother's - voice broke saying her little sister's name, Jack knew she had to end the call before she broke, knowing that would only put more of a burden on her mother.

  "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can. I have to go and call my partner so he knows not to expect me at work for a while." Once hearing the affirmative, Jack quickly hung-up, and felt tears pushing against her hard-won control. She didn't want to start crying on the phone where her mother could hear, Liz had enough on her plate as it is and needed Jack to be strong. Breathing deeply a few times to calm down and wiping the few traitorous drops that slipped free, Jack dialed the number she had long memorised.

  "Forbes, this better be damn well important. It's bad enough I can hardly get a full-nights sleep, but to hear your irritating yapping anymore than strictly necessary is just down-right cruel." At hearing the familiar, gruff voice of the man she had always seen as an older brother and had given her a feeling of safety ever since she started solo investigating, Jack was unable to prevent a strangled noise of pain - almost a sob - from escaping.

   Speaking as if approaching an injured wild animal her partner tried to figure out the problem. "Hey, hey, ssshhh ssshhh. Okay, okay. Can you tell me what's going on?"

  At hearing the discomfort in her partners' voice Jack chuckled, he had never been good with crying women and the shock of hearing his bad-ass female partner cry was throwing him for a loop.

   "It's fine Terrence, I'm not actually crying, just... upset. If I was crying I sure as hell wouldn't be coming to you for comfort fang-face." She knew it shocked many people  _in the know_ to see a witch and vampire willingly working together, even going so far as to form a sibling-like relationship.

   She had met Terrence on one of her earliest supernatural cases, hunting down a Ripper in the Mid-West area. The two had gotten along like fire and water, constantly bickering and trading barbs, but in the end when she asked him to help out with future cases and he wouldn't accept anything less than an equal partnership, neither refused. "It's just...  _sigh._ It's Caroline, she's been it a car accident and I just-"

  "Say no more, Love. When are we leaving? I can be packed in ten minutes." The whistle of quickly moving air on the other end showed that Terrence was already up and was using his vamp-speed to get ready and pack.

  "Wait,  _we._ You're coming? Why? You've never even met my little sister, and what makes you think I want anyone from back home meeting _you._ " Contrary to her words, Jack's tone was as close to teasing as she could get with Care in the hospital.

 Jack could hear the smile in his response. "Yes,  _your little sister,_ and, as your sort-of big brother, sort-of best friend, that means that the little firefly is my little sister too. And why wouldn't you want the people of that tiny little town staring at you in jealousy for knowing someone as amazing as me?"

    Jack privately admitted that he had a point, she had talked about Care often enough that he would latch-on to her as someone to protect - hell he had already been using a nickname for her sister, might as well let them actually meet. 

  "I've always seen Caroline as more of a little general than a little firefly, but fine, you can come. I'll pick you up on my way, be ready when I get there." Hearing his agreement Jack hung-up, she had finished packing during her two phone conversations and was scrawling a quick note to leave on their office door letting any clients know they would be unavailable for the foreseeable future. It was good fortune that they didn't currently have any cases open.

   Pausing front of her bathroom mirror as she got ready, Jack took in her disheveled appearance. Her dark honey-brown hair was tussled with sleep, her green eyes were red-rimmed and dull, and her normally golden tan skin was pale with stress and lack of sleep. In short, she looked awful and hung-over, nothing she wanted to look like when she got to the hospital when her mother had enough to worry about without her own problems barging in. 

  Jack's breath stuttered as she remembered exactly why she got so little sleep.

_It was cold and dark. They had been following a lead they had on a Ripper who kidnapped children to feed on and rape._

_The trail lead to an abandoned warehouse that they figured the vamp used to store the kids until they were done with them. Turning the corner, the scent of copper filled her nose, clogging her throat with it's potency._

_The whole case had been gruesome and bloody, but nothing had prepared her for the sight that met her eyes. Meat and flesh and bone was strewn from one end of the room to the other, blood soaking the ground. The most horrific part stood in the center of the room. It was a man holding a tool in his hand._

_He wasn't a Ripper. Hell he wasn't even a vampire._

_He was human. All this was done by a human._

_\-----------------------------------------------------------------------_

 Jack came back to reality just in time to rush to the toilet and empty her stomach.

    That case had been a month ago but it still made a frequent appearance in both her sleeping and waking minds. It was one of the many reasons she didn't hate one species any more than another, because she knew that, in the end, they were all just people. People capable of good and bad, just depended which you were more inclined and whether you could be changed, whether you could be saved.

  She had emptied her clip into that man without remorse, it didn't matter that he was _human_ , thus supposedly  _innocent_ as far as many witches were concerned. In her eyes, the man was as monsterous as any vamp or wolf.

    They had left town a week later, staying just to make sure that the deaths had truly stopped before moving on. 

  Getting up from in front of the toilet, Jack flushed it's contents and finished getting ready. She dressed in stretchy, comfortable clothes for a long night of staying in the hospital - a loose gray FBI tee left over from her field agent days and a pair of plain black leggings - and threw her shoulder-length hair into a high pony-tail. 

   Tossing her toiletries in her bag, Jack gabbed her keys and purse heading out the door. She didn't bother locking it, she'd spelled her whole apartment to only let her and those she trusts inside.

  Loading her stuff into the car Jack drove off, stopping by the office to put up the sign and grab some of her gear - just in case - before heading over to Terrence's to pick him up.

  After her partner was settled, she pulled off, turning onto I-95 to head south to Mystic Falls. Terrence thankfully didn't comment, despite being able to see through her walls to tell that she wasn't remotely okay and that only some of it had to do with her sister's condition.

 

~

 

**Approx. 2hrs Later**

 

**Welcome to Mystic Falls**

  The familiar sign was lit-up when her head-lights hit it's surface.

    The last time she was here was to attend Grayson and Miranda Gilbert's funeral. While she had never been close to either, Jack had been in the same grade as Jenna since middle-school and a close friend all through-out high-school, keeping in touch still to this day.

  Jack felt a familiar pang of guilt for not having stayed around a little longer. She knew that Jenna was still grieving and had the sudden responsibility of becoming Jeremy and Elena's sole guardian. But, they had a case and she couldn't in good conscience leave those innocent people to die, even if her sister in all but blood needed help.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

  _Home Sweet Home._ Jack had never liked how restrictive life had felt in this tiny community, a familiar tension entering her posture the further into town they drove. Unfortunately, the hospital Caroline was in was a few miles outside Mystic Falls in the opposite direction of Washington, where they lived. Meaning they had to pass the familiar streets and sights of Jack's old prison. It didn't help that Terrence felt the need to comment on everything they passed.

 "Oh! Is that Mystic Grill? Ha, you told me this town was small, but darling this is bloody tiny. It looks like theres only one, two, three, four, maybe five places to eat. Awww, are you angry, Love?  _*poke*poke*_  Look at that, you're practically vibrating from how tense you are. Are you sexually frustrated? Is that what this is? I mean I can't remember the last time you got some and as your best friend I just think that's not health-" The longer he talked the more stressed Jack got, until she couldn't take it.

  Slamming on the brakes they came to a screeching halt in the middle of the dark, empty street. "Yes! I'm angry! Yes, I'm tense! You want to know why! Because I haven't slept a whole night though since that case in Louisiana and I throw-up every time I dream about it, my boyfriend left me two months ago, I'm back in a town I hate that makes me feel like I'm suffocating the longer I'm here, and oh, let me think, my little sister might be dying in the hospital right now! So, can you just shut up for once and give me some peace!" By the time she had finished speaking - yelling more like - Jack was panting. Surprisingly, she felt the tension bleeding from her muscles, the emotions that had been bottled within her chest had been, for the most part, released.

  Looking up Jack's eyes met a set of wise cobalt-blue ones, calmly watching her from across the car. "Feel better?" When she nodded he continued. "Good. It's never good when you are that quiet and tense, you tend to stew in your emotions until you explode or drink yourself into unconsciousness. Remember, I'm here and you can always talk to me." Having obviously reached his quota of responsibility for the night. "Now that you've stopped being a drama queen and trying to bite my bloody head off, why don't get this show on the road. I've already had to sit in this monstrosity you call a car for two hours and I'd like to get out sometime soon."

  Sighing and rolling her eyes, Jack continued down the empty road.

    There were times she forgot that Terrence was actually a 700 year old vampire that had wisdom and life experience in that shallow head of his. 

   But Terrence had always enjoyed the finer things in life, having been born an aristocrat in 12th century England able the get the best of everything, and had continually made it known that her black GMC SUV was not up to his standards. Turning on the radio to provide background noise, the rest of the ride was spent in comfortable silence, Jack feeling much calmer after her mini-blowup that Terrence had goaded her into. 

  It wasn't that she couldn't afford a more  _stylish_ car like the one he had, her birth-mother and her family, a french line of witches by the named of Duchamp, had left her a sizable inheritance. Included in that was a few bank accounts that had been accruing interest for a few decades, a number storage units of heirlooms and supernatural paraphernalia, and two properties - one in Mystic Falls and the other in New Orleans. Jack just preferred her SUV, it had space to put hidden compartments for her hunting gear and enough room for the few grimoires she never went anywhere without, making it perfect in her eyes.

  "Finally!" Terrence jumped out of the car before she could even park and jogged over to the enterence to wait for her. She didn't understand how someone so old could be so childish, but at least he had closed the car door on his way out or else parking without hitting anything would've been a challange. Taking a few steadying breaths to center herself and her magic, Jack exited the car and walked through the hospital enterence.

 

~

 

  They stopped by the nurses' station to find Caroline's room number and for Terrence to compel the nurse on duty to let them visit after hours. Walking into the room Jack felt her blood freeze, Caroline wasn't breathing. But before she could call out to Terrence who was waiting by the door he barged in and Caroline bolted upright with a gasp.

  "I thought something was strange, then I realized I could only hear one heartbeat in here instead of two." Terrence had this look on his face, as if he'd already come to a conclusion but wanted her to figure it out herself so he didn't have to be the one to tell her.

    Mouthing a small _'I know'_ to him, Jack's mind raced, trying to deal with the situation and pushing the snarling, wrathful part of her that wanted to find the person who  _murdered_ her little sister and rip them apart. Most would assume that Care had died from her accident, but the same vampire blood that quite obviously brought her back would have healed any injuries. Besides that,  the heart monitor had been unplugged, meaning someone didn't want anyone knowing that Caroline's heart had stopped.

"Elena killed me, she killed me! Why would she kill me! She said her name was Katherine, but I saw her it was Elena!"

  Seeing her little sister's panicked state, Jack yanked herself out of her own head and cautiously approached. When in transition is when a vampire tended to have very little control and she didn't want to have to risk hurting Caroline if she attacked. "Hey, hey, it'll be okay but I need you to breath for me. Nice and slow can you do that for me little bear. Nice and slow." 

  She knew she would have to address what  Caroline said but she had to handle one problem at a time and first up was her sisters transition. Jack spoke in the soft tone she reserved for when Care was hurt or sick and moved close enough to reach out and rub Caroline's back in an effort to calm her. 

   When her sister's posture was relaxed and her breathing steady, Jack contemplated what to do. "So, while I would prefer that you complete the transition instead of dying I know this is your choice."

  Caroline's utterly confused expression caused Jack's heart to sink to her stomach, but that didn't soften the blow of the words she spoke. "What? What - what are you talking about? What transition? Transition into what? And dying? Why - why would I be dying? I thought I was killed, but then I woke up, that must mean I'm fine, right?"

  The increasing panic in Caroline's voice spurred Jack into action. "What do you mean you don't know? Didn't - mom was supposed to talk to you about this stuff before school started, during the summer." Breathing deeply Jack pushed aside her anger, Caroline didn't need that right now. "Okay. There's some stuff you need to know as both a Forbes and a resident of this god foresaken town. Good thing Terrence is here we can do some show and tell. First things first, I need you to suspend your disbelief until I can finish okay?"

  Continuing only when Caroline nodded. " The supernatural are real okay. Witches, vampires, and werewolves, the whole shebang. I am a witch, Terrence is a vampire, and if you complete the transition you will become a vampire. To complete the transition you will need to drink human blood, if you don't you will die in 24 hours. In the end it's your decision but, I want you know that being a vampire doesn't make you a bad person despite common belief and no matter what anyone else thinks, I'll have your back."

   After seeing Jack levitate a few things, seeing Terrence's vamp-face, interacting with him - someone that was a part of her potential new species, and hearing about all the details of being a creature of the night, Caroline stared into space for a while. She was contemplating the pros and cons and possible future problems, freaking out just a little that she might not be _human_ soon. 

   Then she realised, none of that mattered. What mattered,  ultimately, in the end, was that Caroline wanted to live. She didn't want to die at 17 having had barely chance to see what the world had to offer. She wanted to travel, see the beauty of the world outside this town, but she would never get that if she chose not to become a vampire.

  "I want to live. Even if that means living as a vampire. All that means is that I have to become the best vampire possible." Jack gave Terrence a look causing him to disappear then reappear with a blood bag in hand. Jack stepped back and sent Caroline a reassuring glance telling her to trust him as Terrence took the lead.

  "Okay, for now we can use this but you are going to have to learn to feed directly from a human while keeping control. I want you to try and take a only sip of this every few seconds, you will want to chug it but try to resist. This is all about establishing self-control from the every beginning, I'll admit, I don't expect you to succeed on your first try but just try you best." Terrence finished with a slightly condescending tone, Jack rolling her eyes when she noticed what he was doing. Both her and her sister had a deeply ingrained urge in prove people wrong when they were told that they couldn't do something. He had learned that early on in their partnership and was now utilizing the same techniques on Caroline, knowing she wouldn't catch on until after succeeding.

  Sure enough, despite how much her pained expression said she didn't want to, Caroline restrained herself to small sips. When she had emptied the bag and her fangs had painfully grown in Caroline turned her triumphant faces toward Terrence.

  He just chuckled, "I guess you really showed me didn't you?"

  Spotting the smug glint in his eye Caroline's jaw dropped. "How....? You...you meant for that to happen?! You jerk! I can't believe you tricked me! Jack I don't like your friends, they're mean." Caroline turned a pout and a pair of hurt puppy-dog eyes on her sister.

  " Hey he does the same thing to me, at least  _you_ don't have to work with this nuisance." Ignoring the offended  _'Hey, I'm not a nuisance, your just a mean old lady with no sense of humour!'_ Jack shared a grin with Caroline.

  Suddenly Caroline grabbed the sides of her head in pain, her eyes screwed shut. " I - I remember. How - how could I forget? He made me forget." When she opened her eyes they were distant, lost in some far away place.

  Exchanging alarmed glances the other two were quick to investigate. "What do you remember Care? Who made you forget?'

  Her voice was hesitant and confused, completely different from her usual confident tone.  "Damon, I had no idea, if I did I never would have gone with him. God I was so stupid, and all because Stefan picked Elena over me. And when I found out it was too late. Oh god, Jack."

  When she began to cry Jack rushed to her side. "Caroline, this is obviously very difficult for you but I need to know what happened." She recognised the names Stefan and Damon but couldn't place why. "I'm going to ask yes or no questions and I need you to answer truthfully I promise I won't get mad at you, no matter what, okay?"

  Getting a nod she started with the question she'd already guessed the answer to. "This Damon is he a vampire?" A nod.

  "At least, I think so."

  "That's okay, just answer to the best of your knowledge. Were you in a relationship with him?" Another nod, this one a touch shameful.

  "Hey, there's no need to feel ashamed, whatever it was it isn't your fault." Despite obviously wanting to argue that point Caroline kept silent, staring down at the hospital blanket covering her lap. "Did he compel you?" A nod 

  "But not the first time, the first time I chose to."

  "The first time? You mean - Caroline, are you - are you saying he compelled you to have sex with him?"

  "Not the first time. But the times after that I was a little....fuzzy I guess." She got progressively quieter as she spoke and seemed to shrink in on herself, as if she wanted to disappear.

  Jack on her part felt sick. The blood had drained from her face and a nauseous feeling had taken residence in the back of her throat. She knew her reaction was out of character, she had handled rape cases before, and make no mistake what this 'Damon' did was rape, this was her baby sister. She had sworn to protect her, at 13 years old holding the squirming little bundle, Caroline had become the one person in the world she would go to the ends of the earth for. And she failed her. She should have made absolutely sure that Liz had told Caroline about the supernatural world and taken her to get a vervain tattoo - something she had come up with to prevent a vampire from either removing your container or holding you until it left your system.

  Finishing her questionnaire with ones she easily guess the answers to  _'Did he hurt you?...Did he feed on you?... Did he try to kill you?'._ By the end Jack needed a break, a chance to just, take a breather.

  Caroline seemed need the space just as much as Jack, but wouldn't let them leave until she had extracted a promise from Jack to get her discharged and get her a daylight ring like Terrence had, in order to help setup the carnival that was happening tomorrow. Caroline agreed to the condition that to attend both Jack and Terrence had to be there and near by in case something happened and she lost control.

  That was what reassured Jack more than anything that Caroline would make it through this. Not even a day into being a vampire and she was already adapting to her new weaknesses and not letting this be the end of the world.

 

~

 

  Jack and Terrence only went as far as sitting in the car in the parking lot, close enough to supernaturally hear if Caroline lost control and attacked someone. They would be staying close for at least the first week, but based on the control Care showed with the blood bag Jack had a feeling she'd be a quick learner.

  "You caught that didn't you? What she said?" Jack wanted to be sure she hadn't been hearing things.

  "Yes, it's seems dearest Katerina is in town and causing trouble." Terrence's face was grim, they knew that if Katherine was here, the ones hunting her wouldn't be far behind. They would need to prepare, the Originals were coming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     


End file.
